Various designs for cutting guides and straight edges have been proposed in the past. Many cutting guide or straight edge devices have a single "one-piece" guide member designed to be secured to a workpiece, usually by means of a suitable clamp or clamps. Such one-piece devices are not readily adaptable for use with workpieces having dimensions greater than the length of the device and are awkward to use with workpieces that are substantially shorter than the devices.
Such devices have a further disadvantage. If the device is long enough to be used with large workpieces, the device is likely to be too long or bulky for convenient storage. It would be desirable to provide an expandable straight edge which could be easily disassembled into smaller components for use with smaller workpieces and easy storage.
Disclosures have been made of straight edge devices which are adapted to be extended to form a longer straight edge. Examples of such devices are described in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,677,399 and 3,915,045. These devices have relatively complex cross-sectional shapes and are not adapted to be clamped to the workpiece with a clamping mechanism mounted to the bottom of the device.
It would be desirable to provide components that include two or more straight edge guide members that could be quickly, easily and tightly secured together to form a longer straight edge. It would also be desirable to provide a connecting means for tightly securing the two guide members together in a manner that would not require the guide members to have complex shapes and configurations. Preferably, the guide members would be fabricated with a minimum of grooves and ribs that undesirably provide traps for sawdust and the like.
Further, it would be beneficial if the connecting means associated with the guide members would not extend beyond the exterior sides of the guide members. Such a connecting means would not interfere with the use of either exterior side of the guide members as a straight edge or tool guide.
It would also be desirable to provide a channel along the bottom of the guide members for slidably receiving a clamp assembly by which the guide members may be secured to the workpiece.